Gordon Hayward’s recovery has been even tougher than imagined. In a series of public appearances last month, the injured Celtics star said he still struggling to sift through his emotions after dislocating his left ankle in brutal fashion opening night.

His melancholy was so severe, in fact, he couldn’t even sit through an entire Celtics game in the injury’s immediate aftermath.

Hayward opened up to Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins for a feature piece about his rehabilitation this season. Though the Celtics haven’t entirely ruled out the possibility of Hayward returning for the playoffs, the scenario seems unlikely. He says it’s best for him to focus on the moment at hand.

Early in his recovery, while the Celtics rattled off 16 straight wins, Hayward could not make it past halftime. “It would be like, All right, I’m done, I have to turn this off,” he told SI.

The worst moment for Hayward was when he returned to the Celtics’ bench Nov. 16 to watch them defeat the Warriors in a thriller at home. From the outside, it was viewed as an uplifting moment of motivation. But Hayward says it was torturous.

“That was the worst,” he says. “I was so close.”

Hayward, 27, wound up watching the second half from the locker room.

Since then, Hayward’s mood has improved. He’s settled into a rehab schedule, beginning work each day at 7:00 a.m. Recently, Hayward has been able to enjoy the Celtics’ sensational season, as he’s graduated from his crutches and walking boot.

Blog dedicated to the best team in the NBA – the Boston Celtics! Follow for the latest and up to date Boston Celtics rumors, news, score, game recaps and more! The articles posted are from multiple RSS feeds and give a link back to the original source if you’d like to read them there.